On the Lot
May 27, 2007
I am getting pretty addicted to the new FOX reality show On the Lot produced by Mark Burnett of Survivor fame and the one and only Steven Spielberg. Only two episodes have been on so far but I am simply loving the concept. The judges are Brett Ratner (Director of XMen & Rush hour), Carrie Fisher ( Princess Leia of the Star wars Trilogy) and Garry Marshall( Director of Pretty women & Raising Helen). Initially 50 contestants were present and each were randomly given 4 different topics for which they need to write a small story or script in movie words and presented to the judges. Then the judges eliminated 14 contestants from that the remaining were divided into a team of three.
This time the teams have to direct a short film of 2.5 minutes on the topic Out of Time. But at least one scene should be totally directed by one person of the team. They had to write, direct and edit this short film in 24 hours. It was really interesting to see the contestants struggle to maintain a flow throughout the film as there are 3 people involved in the movie making. Some had great stories to tell, some had amazing cinematography some had the whole package but there was this one team that completely stood out not only for me but also for the judges. The team took the topic Out of Time in a different manner and used a lot of technological aspects such as time freeze techniques and all and created a movie masterpiece just in their apple laptop. It was brilliantly executed and was a treat to the eyes.
Once another 12 were eliminated the rest were given the final audition task of directing a one minute movie provided a script individually. I cant wait to see how this episode turns out and it should be pretty chaos for the participants as well.
But the thing that made me wonder just by looking at these contestants’ 2.5 minute short film is that how the Asian cinema( Indian, Sri Lankan, Chinese etc) is far behind in technological and other detail aspects in making a movie. Maybe the directors are talented as Hollywood directors but they fail to execute such product that will appeal for all kinds of masses not only in Asia but worldwide. Money is another problem too but we boast of making the highest number of movies per year but how many of them do you think is memorable? Why cant we combine certain budgets and make one memorable movie than just making hundreds that go unnoticed? When I saw the team that did the time freeze technique in their 2.5 minute film where everything was done in an average laptop, it made me think what was Shanker boasting so much by using it in the song Ale Ale from boys. We are always laughed upon saying Indian movies doesn’t have anything but just dancing around trees and changing clothing all the time. I am not complaining about it since its what makes Indian cinema unique and profitable with its less literate population. But I think its about time we utilize the uniqueness we have and take it to the next level where we can have a global audience and make Asian cinema as equal to Hollywood. Some directors are making the effort such as Ashutosh Gowarikers Lagaan, Swades, Rakesh Omprakash Mehras Rang De Basanti, Mani Ratnams Nayagan, Guru and Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Devdas and Black, but I think lot of others should step up too to make quality cinema along with the commercial aspects the Indian audience die for and make memorable movies for the future.
